Coming up this evening at 9, "Piers Morgan Tonight" welcomes a panel of all-stars to talk about America's needs to grow and prosper. Joining Piers Morgan is Will.i.am, founder of the i.am.angel Foundation, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark, Her Highness Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia, and Deepak Chopra.

In New York for the CGI Annual Meeting, Morgan's guests each have issues near and dear to their heart. Morgan asks Will.i.am to explain why the rest of the world is overtaking America and what can be done about it:

"It's greed and lack of leadership," the Black Eyed Peas rapper says, "to the point where I don't see why it makes sense that we spend so much money on prisons versus education."

Clark notes one of America's problems is that it is an older manufacturing economy. "One of the things we can do in America is we can move more into the Internet age in our manufacturing, in our bidding and our ordering process," the retired general explains. "It's critical."

Morgan moves on to ask about America's competition. "Is China the enemy that many Americans see it as?"

"We live in a - a very diverse world and we need to embrace that. If China is excelling in something, that's great. But guess what? America is in excelling in technology, as well," Princess Ameerah says. "I am not against a - a certain country or a certain nation excelling in something. I'm actually embracing that."

"America has to figure out what it is we are. We are our own enemy right now," Will.i.am explains, seemingly confused. "I still - somebody still hasn't told me why we spend so much money on prisons and not for education."

Chopra details many things in the world that he thinks are not OK. "Who said drones were OK? Who said economic injustice is OK? Who says 50 percent of the world is living on less than $2 a day, 20 percent less than $1 a day?"

Watch the clip, and listen to the interviews, as Piers Morgan asks his panel of experts how we can make America great again, then tune in at 9p.m. EST for the full interview.

soundoff(32 Responses)

Will.i.am is making me froth at the mouth right now with his idiotic questions. Greed apparently is destroying America when every question he asks is a failure of government or a misunderstanding of economics.

1) We spend more money prisons than education because of a broken policy of prohibition on drugs. Most prisoners are non-violent offenders that don't belong in jail and are crippling us with unmanageable costs.

2) We don't manufacture in America because we do not have a comparative advantage in manufacturing compared to countries like China and Mexico, who have low labor costs. The minimum wage is partially to blame for this, but also Americans are on the whole more productive and command higher wages.

3) Greed doesn't factor into either of these! It is either simply explained through the tools of economics or a failure of government policy. Freer, more well-enforced markets are the solutions to our problems, not an overhaul of a bogged down system.

Spoken like a true conservative. Unless you have take from this world only what you needed and help those less fortunate then you cant begin to understand the complexities of a global economy driven by greed. Greed is why companies like Apple are worth billions while the Chinese folks that produce the products live in Dormitory style housing away from family. Greed is why a Platinum mine in Africa wont agree to the demands of the scores of Africans living in terrible conditions. The best example that I have ever seen of a greed less society are the Amish out in western Pennsylvania.

We live in a world with scarce resources. Nice attempt to slander me as well, I would classify myself as a market liberal. Giant firms like Apple would not continue to exist with their destructive business model if it were not for government interventionism through patents, regulation, and tax law.

No, but greed is the reason you in the United States treat your poor so badly, why you cna't provide decent health care to millions, why there is such a divide on who cna afford to go to university – too greedy to share the wealth. Too stubborn, economically, to realize that keeping people healthy, helping them get educated, will raise the overall standard of living, increase your tax base, reduce the need for critical government assistance, MAKE PEOPLE HAPPIER. So many Americans use lables like "Socialist" to descrine very common government and, yes, government/private partnership programmes that are common in many civilized societies.
Do you really thinkyour freed filled television programmes don't affect people's view of themselves in the world?? I have to pvr every American tv show because the greed in the commercials or the ads for "reality" shows makes me want to vomit. No, greed isn't th eonly reason for your problems but it has a lot to do with where you folks are today. Pity. America used ot be a beacon for the world in so many ways.

It's unfortunate that we live in a world with scarcity, I agree. The best mechanism to sort out scarcity is an omnipotent individual (impossible), so we go with the best thing we have discovered, the price mechanism. Health care is not unlimited, and as with everything else, the best way to distribute it based on need is the price mechanism.

The rest of your rant was also poorly constructed. If you want to discuss this in positive terms, I'm willing. However, I am not going to create opinions on the morality of distribution or advertising or whatever you began to ramble about.

Why oh why does this show have a pop singer on asking ridiculous questions with little to no substance? Of course we should improve education standards, but comparing one sector to another – particularly when they are unrelated – makes no sense at all. Why do we spend more per head on prisons than schools? Why do we have more musicians in the Department of Defense than we have diplomats in the foreign service? The two have nothing to do with each other.

I understand your point. But Piers made a good observation about this. He said they are there because they draw in young people. This is good because then young people will actually pay attention to discussions about education, policy, and global issues. Also, young people tend to make a big deal about events on Facebook and Twitter, so it is good advertising.

I am the Director of a Technolgy Center in PA. Colleagues and I are convening a "CALL TO ACTION" called E2 Summit. We are bringing together school superintedents, local and state legislators, highed education and labor/industry partners on October 30 at the University o f Scranton. It is tim to talkto our teachers about the role they play in economic development. Please contact for more information and how we ca replicate this effort....help us spread the word.

Great ! Time well spend. Unfortunately, Amerian schools have too many unqualified Teachers, Principles and Super Intendants. Added to that Teachers Union who protect those are are unqualified. Scool is a privilege not a right. Stundents who do not see it as such should not have the right to attend any school. America has it all wrong from the start. Education has to be a privilege for those who want to learn and not a placeto hang out for peple who do not like to learn. Bussing students to school is a crazy idea whih does not work economically. Parents should have to drive the children to school. Period.

America uses Univesities for job training. Education in America has become a big business and lik so many other things has managed to destroy a basically good idea. We have too many fake Universities who offer fake diplomas, i.e. Phoenix, Waldon and all those mail box Universities. Most people in America are skilled not educated. Nurses, Accountants, Compute skills are learendin trade schools not Universities. Mosty college students neve read another novel or good book after they graduate. Americans are very naive about the eople and the world out side the USA, I metpople in Oklahoma and across the country who have no clue what this world ios about but they can talk about football, basket ball and base ball all the day long. American students are out for theeasy money or the quick buck. Take easa course to get a diploma or attend some low class school like Phoenix University. The name University must be protected and only given to Universities who are qualified likeColumbia, Harvard, Princeton etc. May 100 Universities. All othrs are trade schools at best. The Education System in America is as corrupt as the Government and it cannotbe fixed, it must be destroyed and build up new.

I too am having a hard time listening to any of the panel. If you want ask Will i am about music go for it, but the economy really? Same goes with DePok Chopra, Maybe we spend more money on prisons because they are over crowded and we need to. And yes it is a big business. To make this panel, a panel of experts, seriously!
By the way all these people make a sh--t load of money. For Will and Depok to find fault with the wealthy and to go on to speak about greed, I find insulting. How do they travel? What kind of car do they drive and how many homes do they own? I don't fault for Depok and Will I am, for having money, but I do find fault in them pointing the finger at the wealthy as if they are not part of the same club.

The issue isn't wealth, it is about what you do with it. President Clinton is super wealthy, but he took the time to put together this CGI event and bring people together. So that is better than retiring on a private island and pretending not to know what is going on in the world. Also, if they had regular people on the panel, the ratings wouldn't have been anywhere near is high. That is sad but true.

The Israeli lobby in America has more control of US government than we have in Israel. We can get criminals from any country blindfolded and flown to the US but we can not get Samuel Sheinban a US citizen from Maryland who killed Alfredo Enrique Tello Jr.'s and flew to Israel with the help of his lawyer father. Tello charred and dismembered body was wrapped in a trash bags and dumped in a Wheaton garage. Samuel Sheinban flew to Israel because United States had NO EXTRADITION TREATY yet our tax dollar supports Israel. How many more wars do we have to fight supporting this friend? There had been no justice for Rachel Corrie murder in Israel because our government has no say in Israel justice system. Do American citizen not matter?
Had Samuel Sheinban been a black or brown young man he would have returned back to United States in shackles and thrown in prison.

When Piers Morgan hosted the CGI Panel to-night, he made a very sarcastic remark to Princess Ameerah about
women driving trackters in the farm fields. This was not at all necessary. You may do a lot good, but with remark like this
it wipes away every thing.

Ok, so even the panel has stars and royalty on it, these people are working in philanthropy. Also, they all have initiatives they are working on that are relevant to the discussion. Interesting discussion.

I am North American 'Indian' – Canadian-American Anishnawbe-Metis in fact, and I would say after a 12 year absence of being gainfully employed internationally, I once again return to a situation where life as a refugee is the norm. I continue to not fit into the checkboxes other than the 'Indian' checkbox.

The so-called 'standards', the process and rampant self-interest of a middle class although politically expedient have done very little other than nurture a maintenance survival economy for myself, my family and pretty much everyone I know.

The irony is I must migrate to other lands to be truly self-sufficient. Some say, that this is truly my land – well, it is clear to me that it is not. I am not a landowner but I think it defines who has a real stake in the manipulation of 'America'. Those who take ownership and presume responsibility.

Although I am present here, I am not really American or Canadian. I live in a no-man's land.Although I am an educator, this is the result of the educational process for me.

I think I represent the REAL AMERICA and what it took to make some Americans great. It seems to require subjugation and that is what global domination has been here and abroad.

I could make recommendations about how to improve 'America' but I've already wasted enough time on this one post.

Feed and protect the sheep (from the scary people) and keep them productive ... oh, and maintain the facade.

Is it ironic, or just sad, that someone like Deepak Chopra, who plasters his name on products like Zrii that are sold using exploitative MLM demagoguery, can go on TV and talk about there being too much greed? I certainly agree that greed is a problem, but it's odd to see an arsonist complaining that there's too much fire.

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